Retail chains craft lofty goals for Vietnamese market

May 30th at 20:00

30-05-2025 20:00:23+07:00

As one of the fastest growing and most dynamic sectors, the retail industry will aim to embody the spirit of private sector development through strategies to expand scale and develop distribution infrastructure.

WinCommerce, the retail brand under Masan Group, currently operates over 3,700 WinMart, WinMart+, and WiN stores. It is expected to open an additional 800-1,000 new stores this year.

Retail chains craft lofty goals for Vietnamese market, Source: winmart.vn

Notably, around 70 per cent of these stores are set to be opened in rural areas, where there is a lack of modern distribution systems but a growing demand for consumer transformation.

“This strategy not only serves business purposes but also contributes to larger goals such as modernising consumer infrastructure and bringing Vietnamese products to the hands of people in remote areas,” said a representative from Masan Group. The store models are also being flexibly adjusted, with WinMart+ in rural areas focusing on reasonable prices, while the WiN and Winmart models in urban areas prioritise convenient experiences and quick service for urban residents.

In addition to focusing on high-quality goods, this retailer also promotes the development of Vietnamese agricultural products in the supply chain in line with the spirit of Vietnam’s new thrust in private sector advances, with a ratio of over 90 per cent domestic products in WinMart+ stores.

“Our strategy serves profit goals and demonstrates the role of the enterprise in accompanying national policies. Members of Masan Group are playing a leading role in the process of building a self-reliant economy, promoting domestic consumption, and developing the domestic value chain in line with the spirit of Vietnam’s current vision,” a representative from Masan said.

Meanwhile, Saigon Co.op, the operator of the Co.opmart supermarket chain, the second-largest supermarket system in Vietnam, also aims to open an additional 154 new retail points throughout the country with sales expected to increase by 4-6 per cent this year.

This plan includes the development of diverse retail models such as Co.opmart, Co.opXtra, Co.op Food, Co.op Smile, and Finelife, to meet the growing shopping needs of consumers.

In addition to expanding its scale, Saigon Co.op also focuses on enhancing the shopping experience for customers by applying modern technology and AI at its new retail points.

Vu Anh Khoa, chairman of the board at Saigon Co.op, believes that e-commerce will play a crucial role in achieving the revenue target of $140 million, with a growth rate of over 30 per cent compared to the previous year.

“The theme of Saigon Co.op’s activities in 2025 is innovation and digital enhancement with the goal of improving business efficiency and continuing to create sustainable values for the community,” Khoa emphasised.

Bach Hoa Xanh is also considering expansion of its stores in rural areas, helping people easily access essential goods without having to travel far.

In the first quarter of 2025, it opened over 200 new stores, mainly focusing on the Central region. CEO Pham Van Trong said that this retail chain aims to achieve a revenue of $10 billion by 2030.

“The company is planning to open 400 stores this year. The new stores are expected to break even at around $60,000 in revenue per store after the initial operation period,” Trong noted.

The Vietnamese retail market size was estimated at $276.3 billion in 2024, and is expected to reach $488 billion by 2029, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 12 per cent between now and then, according to Research and Markets.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade predicts that the total retail sales of goods and consumer service revenue in 2025 is expected to reach around $283 million, an increase of approximately 10.7 per cent compared to 2024.

The wide-open opportunities in the market and the push from the government have made retail a field witnessing expansion competition not only among domestic retailers but also among foreign retailers, especially Japanese retailers.

AEON, the largest retail corporation in Japan, plans to increase the number of super supermarkets and general merchandise stores (GMS) operated by the company in Vietnam from 12 to approximately 100 stores by 2030.

In addition, AEON is looking to expand the super supermarket (SSM) concept, a combination of grocery store and GMS, by integrating grocery stores with food courts and cosmetics counters.

As of the end of February, AEON has been operating 12 GMS’, including three separate SSM and 36 food supermarkets, including City Mart stores in the country.

“In order to compete on par with our rivals, we aim to develop 100 GMS and SSM locations by around 2030. AEON is also considering expanding its network of supermarkets to around 200,” said Furusawa Yasuyuki, president of AEON Retail Co., Ltd.

Meanwhile, Sumitomo Corporation plans to expand the Fuji Mart grocery supermarket chain through a partnership with Vietnam’s BRG Group, from the current 20 to 50 stores by 2028.

Le Huy Hoang, research director in Ho Chi Minh City, B&Company Domestic brands are showing more advantages among supermarkets and minimarts, which cover more widely in both urban and rural areas. Meanwhile, international players are taking lead in more modern channels, including convenience stores, shopping malls, hyper malls, and e-commerce; and are more prominent in big provinces Local retail models like supermarkets and minimarts still largely aim for daily quick shop-and-go and are relevant to old lifestyle fashion especially in further-away areas, whereas global modern chains offer diverse convenient experiences, which are sought more in developed cities. As modernisation is gradually expanding to every corner of the country, the exposure and demand for international chains will likely be raised, but by that time, those brands still have to face with several challenges, such as localisation, optimisation of operation costs, and logistics to establish in new local markets. With the participation of Vietnamese players in shopping malls, it may lead to mixed competition and the ratio between local/global retailers may fluctuate without too many big waves. That is a long-run marathon requiring huge investments and resourceful capacities. In this context, while Vietnam is making development of the private sector a massive focus, it is still too early to conclude about its practical impacts for Vietnamese businesses in general, let alone retailers in particular. Firstly, we must wait for follow-up documents to instruct on the issue and, more importantly, to provide support policies, programmes, and tangible support or incentives which can create real boosters for the private sector. Besides that, with small- and medium-sized enterprises making up around 98 per cent of private businesses, it might be hard to predict the impact they could bring to the retail structure, because modern trade retail is the arena of giant players, while general trade is fragmented and cannot be changed by small actions. All in all, close observations of the latest updates should be necessary to assess the effects.

Le Huy Hoang, research director in Ho Chi Minh City, B&Company

Domestic brands are showing more advantages among supermarkets and minimarts, which cover more widely in both urban and rural areas. Meanwhile, international players are taking lead in more modern channels, including convenience stores, shopping malls, hyper malls, and e-commerce; and are more prominent in big provinces

Local retail models like supermarkets and minimarts still largely aim for daily quick shop-and-go and are relevant to old lifestyle fashion especially in further-away areas, whereas global modern chains offer diverse convenient experiences, which are sought more in developed cities.

As modernisation is gradually expanding to every corner of the country, the exposure and demand for international chains will likely be raised, but by that time, those brands still have to face with several challenges, such as localisation, optimisation of operation costs, and logistics to establish in new local markets.

With the participation of Vietnamese players in shopping malls, it may lead to mixed competition and the ratio between local/global retailers may fluctuate without too many big waves. That is a long-run marathon requiring huge investments and resourceful capacities.

In this context, while Vietnam is making development of the private sector a massive focus, it is still too early to conclude about its practical impacts for Vietnamese businesses in general, let alone retailers in particular.

Firstly, we must wait for follow-up documents to instruct on the issue and, more importantly, to provide support policies, programmes, and tangible support or incentives which can create real boosters for the private sector.

Besides that, with small- and medium-sized enterprises making up around 98 per cent of private businesses, it might be hard to predict the impact they could bring to the retail structure, because modern trade retail is the arena of giant players, while general trade is fragmented and cannot be changed by small actions. All in all, close observations of the latest updates should be necessary to assess the effects.

VIR

- 09:59 30/05/2025